From giving Him my all to giving up control, join me this week as I share some things God has been teaching me lately.

More than Three Letters

I’ve read today’s verse many times and thought, “Of course I should love God with all of myself. Sure, I am doing that. Check. Move on to the next verse.” While reading the verse, I sped through the little word all each time. But I’m learning that all is truly the key word here.

It’s easy to love God with part of my heart, part of my soul, and part of my strength. I’m beginning to understand the difficulty of what He is truly asking us to do. I’m beginning to see that all encompasses much more than three letters.

All means loving God when my world falls apart, when my plans are crushed, and when my dreams are shattered. When circumstances pull me deep into the dark place, where is my all? Buried in self-pity?

When I’m in the pit, do I reach my arms up to God? Or sit in the mud and feel sorry for myself? In the dark places, I usually put all my heart, soul and strength into surviving. When I take a piece of God’s all and keep it for myself, it gets ugly. I grasp onto that slice of self-sufficiency and hide in the corner trying to make myself feel better. Here’s the problem with taking part of God’s all into the corner with me—my hands are clenched tightly and my back is turned. I am not reaching up to God with open hands to accept all He is offering to me.

Jesus didn’t give just part of Himself as payment for our sins. He gave ALL of Himself.

Lord, we tend to hold back pieces of our hearts. We want to give You ALL of our hearts, souls, and strength. Teach us to let go of those pieces that we’re grasping tightly and find our ALL in You. Amen

Humbly learning these lessons,

Allison